Automatic elevation adjuster stands



Aug. 13, 1957 w. s. HARRISON AUTOMATIC ELEVATION ADJUSTER STANDS 2 Sheds-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1955 Y NVENTOR. W/u/AM a. wee/50v A 'r roe/u ns Aug. 13, 1957 w. s. HARRISON AUTOMATIC ELEVATION ADJUSTER STANDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1953 INVENTOR. Mu/AM 5. Maze/5v ATTORNEYS 2 ,802,575 AUTOMATIC ELEVATION ADJUSTER STANDS William S. Harrison, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada; Wallace 'H. Jeune and George Woodburn, executors of said William S. Harrison, deceased Applicationlune 5, .19'53,-Serial N0..359,757

'3 Claims. '(Cl. 211-51) The presentinventionrpertains,to a stand from which articles are dispensedand particularly flat articles which may be stored in a stack, such'astnewspapers or magazines. The shelf supportingzsuchartieles .to be dispensed is adjustable automatically in elevation to the extent necessary to maintain-the top .of such a stack of articles .at

substantially a constant elevationabove the ground or equivalent stand-supporting surface.

:It :has been found from'experience that morenewspapers orimagazines can be sold'under any given-set of conditions .if such :publications are rendered available in a stack, and the upper surface of the stackis at a height such that a prospective customer can remove a copy of the publication from the'top-of the stack with- :out stooping 'and is able to scanthe subject matter on the exposedupperi surface of the publication easily. To

secure this result it is psychologically.important to have "the upper surface of the stack ofpublications within a reasonably small variation from an optimum elevation above the ground r or stand-supporting surface which is between about threefeet and three feet, six inches.

The previous-practice'has been-to utilize a newsstand havinga shelf at a fixed height above the bottombf thestand, such as perhaps slightlyunder threefeet, and then to stackpublications on such'she'lfto a height=of six or eight inches and continually-replenish the supply of publications as they are depleted. Such procedure, however, requires excessively frequent attention toprevent the supply becoming exhausted.

\It is the object of the present invention to provide anewsstand having a vertically movable publication stor age shelf,the elevation'of which will be adjusted automatically substantially in direct relationship to the number of publication on it. Thus while several times "as many publications can be placed on the shelf than it was possible to have on a fixed shelf whilemaintaining the top of the stack at approximatelythe optimum height, the top of such a stack on the movable .shelf will automatically be located at .a substantially constant height under all shelf loading conditions.

In accomplishing the foregoing object it is also my purpose that the newsstand be of simple and economical construction, pleasing in appearance and involving structure of rugged character having no objectionable maintenance problems. It is also an object in sucha newsstand to conceal the supporting mechanism for the movable shelf, both to enhancethe appearance of the newsstand and to protect the shelf supporting mechanism from damageand exposure to the weather.

In the fabrication of the present newsstand most of thecomponents can be made from conventional materials by a simple manufacturing process, and the stand can be assembled and disassembled readily if desired. Moreover, it can be easily and securely anchored in place, but also can'be released and removed with little trouble.

In general the stand of the preferred type includes four tubular corner posts having their lower ends interconends butt welded directlytothe posts :1, it is'preferred "be 'found to be of greatest utility.

,nected indefinitelyspaced relationship, Lpreferably defining the corners of a rectangle. ;The lower ends .of

theseposts may beinterconnected by spreader tubescarrying a shelf,j-for example. The tubes will interconnect ,the posts to maintaintheir proper spacing, and the shelf mayassist in maintainingthe'rectangular relationship of the spreader tubes.

Spacedabovethe :bottoms of the posts is a vertically movable shelf supported from the posts by its corners. The supporting mechanismfor each corner includes a "slideireceived within the corner post and resilientlysupported from the post 'by .a spring received within it. Such spring is stressed *bythe weight of the movable shelf and articles ,placed on it, and-the springs are selected so that their; spring characteristics correspond approximately to the weightof .thetarticles to'becarried by the movable shelf. In .other words, neglecting the weight of :the shelf, which will bezlight, each spring'will be deformed :through ,a .given distance by a stack .of articles onthe movable :shelf of a thickness approximately one-quarter of .such distance, so that the 'four springs inthe four corner posts will be altered inalength :by an amount approximately equal to the change ,in :height of thestack ofpublications abovethe movable shelf supporting them.

Ad ditional features and objeetsof'the present inven- "tionr-areipointed out in the following detailed description of the newsstand-,illustratedin the accompanying .drawings.

Figure .1 -is a top perspectiveview of the newsstand. .Figure @2 .is a vertical sectional viewthrough one cor- -:ner post of the:newsstandtaken on line2-2 of :Figure 3, 'the remainder of the. newsstand being :broken away,

and %Figure :3 is a 'horizontalsection through "a corner portion ofthenewsstand taken on;line 3--i3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4:is:a top perspective view of a corner portion of theznewsstand with parts brokenaway, Figure 5 is a top perspective v-iewLofa spring. and spring supure 6 andthespring ofFigure 5 in'concentric relation therewith.

Together Figures 4, 5, '6 and 7 illustrate cooperating partsin what might be considered exploded relationship, and Figure 8lis a top perspective view showinglsuch parts in assembled relationship with sections thereof broken. away to revealthe coaction of these parts.

While'the principles employed in the newsstand illustrated in the drawings maybe utilized in newsstands of other shapes, the stand of rectangular shape will It includes four tubular corner posts 1 interconnected by spacer tubes 10 preferably disposed at or adjacent to the lower ends of the posts. While such spacer tubesmayhavetheir that the adjacent ends of adjacent tubes 10 be welded or otherwise secured to asleeve 11 of a size to receive snugly the lower end of a post.1. Such post ,endmay in turn be welded to the sleeve 11 if desired.

The rectangular frame formed bythe tubes 10 and sleeves 11 may have its upper side covered by ametal sheet 12 constituting a lower storage shelf. The edges of such sheet may be bent downward'to form flanges fittingabout the tubes 10, andsuch flanges preferably extend beyond the center of 'the tubes as shown in- Figure 2, so'that they willsnap beyond the greatest width of the 3 base frame to retain the sheet 12 resiliently in place. At spaced locations the lower sides of tubes may have in them screw-receiving holes through which screws 13 may be inserted for the purpose of securing the base frame to a floor F on which the stand rests. Access to such screws 1s afiorded by holes 14 in the upper sides of the tubes 10, which preferably are substantially larger than the head of a screw 13 so that a screw driver may be inserted readily through them. The sheet 12 will cover such holes both to improve the appearance of the stand and to protect lthem against entrance of moisture and foreign marteria The corner posts 1 preferably are three and one-half V to four feet in length so that their upper ends may be sub stantially at or slightly above the uppermost position of the movable shelf 2 and the top of the stack of articles to be carried by it for dispensing. The shelf is supported by its corners from the posts and such support may be afforded by brackets 20, each formed of a metal strip. The central portion of such a strip may be formed as a loop 21 with the portions of the strip adjacent to such loop being in face-to-face engagement. The end portions 22 of each.

strip may be disposed at a right dihedral angle'received beneath the corner portion of a shelf and behind downturned flanges 23 formed along the edges of the shelf. The bracket portions 22 are then secured to the end por tions of such flanges by rivets 24 or equivalent securing within the post 1, as shown best in a comparison of Figures 6 and 7 with Figure 8. The loop 21 of the bracket 20 may be slid into the upper end of the slide tube 16,

which upper end has in it a slot 17 of a size to receive the portion of the bracket adjacent to its loop. When assembled, as shown in Figure 8, the bracket loop'21 and the slide tube 16 may be secured together, if desired, such as by welding their upper edges.

The shelf supporting structure slidable' within the post 1, which, as shown and described, is composed of the bracket 20 and slide 16, is resiliently supported from the post 1 by a spring received within the post. While such spring could be of the compression type having its lower end carried by the post and the shelf corner supporting structure resting on its upper end, it ispreferred that the spring be of the tension type as illustrated in the drawings. Such a spring 3 of spiral type may have an external diameter somewhat less than the internal diameter of the bracket loop 21 so that the spring may extend through such bracket loop as shown in Figures 2,. 3 and 8.

The lower end of the spring will be connected to the lower portion of slide tube 16, such as by a loop on the lower end of the spring being engaged over a tab 18 bent inward from the wall of the slide tube. The upper end of the spring will be suspended from the post 1, for example by a loop 31 formed on the upper end of the spring being secured in an eye 32 in the bottom of a flanged plug 33 shown in Figures 2, 5 and 8. The lower portion of this plug will fit snugly in the upper end of the post 1, and its flange may abut the upper post end so as to cover it. By forming the upper portion of the V plug of rounded or approximately hemispherical shape a neat finish on the upper end of each post is obtained.

It Will be evident that the weight of the shelf 2 and any load which it'may carrywill be transmittedthrough the bracket 20, slide 16, spring 3 and plug 33 to the post 1,

, as shown in Figures 2 and 8. Consequently the load of the shelf will hold the plug 33 down into the upper end of the post. If-it is desired to enable the shelf 2 to be removed, the plug will not be secured to the post, in which event the shelf can merely be lifted upward from its position of Figures 2 and 8, whereupon the bracket loop 21 will lift the plug out of the post and the spring 3 will retain the bracket, slide 16 and plug 33 together. Alternatively, of course, the plug 33 may be secured permanently to the upper end of the post, such as by welding.

As the load on shelf 2 is increased, such as by stacking further newspapers or periodicals on it, the slide 16 will be urged downward in the post 1 at each corner of the shelf, as indicated in broken lines in Figures 1 and 2. It is desirable for springs 3 supporting the corners of the shelf to be, selected such that the spring characteristics have a definite relationship to the loading of the shelf 2. The shelf may be made of light material such asaluminum alloy sheet so that itsweight and the weight of the brackets 20 and slide tubes 16 will be small. The elevation of the shelf 2 will be adjusted automatically to keep the top of the stack of publications at approximately a constant elevation irrespective of the height of the stack above the shelf 2 if the characteristics of each spring 3 are such that the spring will be stretched a given distance by an increase in load equal to one-quarter of the increase in thickness of the stack of publications on the shelf 2. Since there are four springs supporting the shelf, the four springs will therefore each be stretched a distance equal to the increase in the height of publications added to the shelf. Conversely, of course, each of the four springs will contract a distance equal to the thickness of a publication or publications removed from the shelf 2 as they are dispensed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A rectangular stand comprising four tubular posts disposed in generally parallel relationship located at the corners of a rectangle and having slots extending from their upper ends downward in their mutually adjacent sides, a vertically movable rectangular shelf received between said posts with its corners adjacent to said posts, respectively, an elongated tubular slider received within each post, a shelf supporting bracket carried by each corner of said shelf, extending through the slot of the adjacent post and secured to the upper portion of said tubular slider, a cap engaged with and covering the upper end of each of said posts, and four helical tension spring means each having its upper end engaged with one of said caps, extending downward therefrom past such shelf supporting bracket connected to the tubular slider corresponding to said one cap, through the hollow of said slider and secured to such slider at a location adjacent to the lower end thereof, the several spring means within said posts cooperating to support said sliders yieldingly for elevational movement within said posts to locate said shelf in various vertically adjusted positions in accordance with the loading thereof.

2. A stand comprising a tubular post having a slot extending lengthwise thereof, a vertically movable shelf disposed alongside said post, an elongated tubular slider received within said post, a shelf supporting bracket carried by said shelf, extending through the slot of said post and secured to the upper portion of said tubular slider, and helical tension spring means having its upper end supported from the upper 'portion of said post, extending downward therefrom past such shelf supporting bracket connected to said tubular slider, through the hollow of said slider and secured to such slider at a location adjacentto the lower end thereof, said spring means serving to' support said slider yieldingly for elevational movement within said post to locate said shelf in various vertically adjusted positions in accordance with the loading thereof.

3. A rectangular frame comprising four tubular upright posts disposed in generally parallel relationship and arranged at the corners of a, rectangle, a vertically movable rectangular shelf received between said posts, one of said posts having a slot extending lengthwise thereof, an elongated tubular slider received within said slotted post, a shelf-supporting bracket carried by said shelf,

extending through such slot in said slotted post and secured to the upper portion of said tubular slider, and helical tension spring means having its upper end supported from the upper portion of said slotted post, extending downward therefrom past such shelf-supporting bracket connected to said tubular slider, through the hollow of said slider and secured to such slider at a location adjacent to the lower end thereof, said spring means serving to support said slider yieldingly for elevational movement within said post to locate said shelf in various,

vertically adjusted positions in accordance with the loading thereof, horizontal tubular frame members interconnecting the lower ends of adjacent ones of said posts in saidrectangular relationship, a plurality of pairs of aligned apertures in the upper and lower sides of said frame members, the apertures in said upper sides being larger than the apertures in such lower sides, anchor members having heads of a size small enough to be received within said frame members by passage through the upper apertures of said aperture pairs but large enough so as not to pass through the lower apertures of said aperture pairs and said anchor members having shanks small enough to extend through the lower apertures of said aperture pairs into anchoring engagement with a supporting surface, and a sheet metal shelf extending between and over said tubular frame members and having edge portions covering the upper apertures therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,020 Hruska et a1. May 9, 1939 2,319,872 Leonard May 25, 1943 2,444,776 Kalning et al. July 6, 1948 2,468,115 Saul Apr. 26, 1949 2,525,243 Shelley Oct. 10, 1950 2,628,142 Dubach Feb. 10, 1953 

